Little Big

What I’m up to:

- After receiving encouragement from Lara I submitted the story of Squirrelly to Love Meow and they ran a feature on him.Thinking about all that’s happened in the three short weeks of Squirrelly’s life (happy birthday, Squirrelly, by the way!) has made me realize that he is really an extraordinarily lucky cat. First of all, he was abandoned in a tow yard at the right place and at the exact right time to be found. Secondly, it was my husband, a kind and goodhearted man, who found him. Perhaps the luckiest thing of all was that this tow yard was located in town in which we live. For work Anthony drives all over the area, and it is not uncommon for him to be over an hour away. This particular day he was not only in town but had enough extra time built into his schedule to drop him off right away so I could take care of him. Lastly, it was Squirrelly’s great fortune for him to wind up with a caretaker who was trained by the best, my Cat Whispering mother.

- Six years ago Anthony’s shoulder was violently  ripped from its socket in what would become the first in a long line of shoulder injuries. It’s been pulled out of joint so many times I can’t even count the number of friends who have had to help him pop it back into place. I’ve even had to do it myself once when it popped out after Anthony rolled over in bed late at night. My husband is active and loves to sword fight and has been studying martial arts since before I knew him. Not having a fully functional shoulder was killing him, and we never knew when the next injury would occur. Each time his shoulder would pop out of joint it would take him weeks to recover. After several ineffective rounds of physical therapy and multiple doctors later he finally was able to get in to see a shoulder specialist who recommended surgery to hopefully fix the problem. He goes in next week and while I’m relieved we can attempt to fix things for him so he can have a normal life again, I have to admit I’m nervous. He’s going to be off work for at least a month and a half.

- Our wedding anniversary (the one we keep forgetting) is just a few days after his surgery, and this will be the first time in eight years I will not be in the midst of hell week–library and textbook collection–at the library. In fact this year we are guaranteed to have the time off together since he will be at home recovering from surgery. I hope nine years is the narcotics anniversary because he could totally share some Vicodin with me as a present. I kid! I prefer morphine.

- I have been feeling kind of overwhelmed lately, a sentiment I’m sure most parents have experienced from time to time. Since I’m home I expect too much of myself sometimes. Just because I’m at home does not mean I can do it all. I’m reworking my daily and weekly schedules in an attempt to get a better handle on things. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? And don’t say “freak out” because I totally already have that covered.

- Jupey is doing that thing again.

Little Big Links:

Axe Body Spray sets off fire alarm at Middletown High School.  When I worked at the library, Axe was the bane of my life. The teenage boys would wear enough to burn my nostrils and fill the stacks with their stench even after they left the library. It got so bad I began to prefer the smell of body odor. I’m now surprised fire alarms aren’t going off constantly.

Free Star Trek Potholder Pattern. Yet another reason I should learn to knit: Federation-approved pot holders. Or as Isobel calls them, hot-holders. Via ispinyarn.

For a richer, fuller life, READ. “Lovely vintage PSA for National Library Week circa 1961, a fine complement to these vintage literacy posters from the WPA.” I bought a vintage literacy photo for my living room, and years later I still love it. Via brainpicker.

Mosquitoes don’t even need to bite us, study shows. Those bastards! Also, this reminds me to dump out that festering bucket of rainwater in the backyard. Excuse me. Via The Onion.

Speaking of Lara, look at this fantastic locker makeover. All I can say is WOW. Talk about a brilliant reuse of an item.

Weekly Photos:

• Wait, are these my cats?!
• Yup, these are my cats.
• Poppies in my garden.
• Extra-cute Squirrelly photo.
• Isobel loves reading.
• The Quiet Book saved dinner.
• Fail’s is full of win.
• Squirrelly is getting playful.
• Murder Mystery Hair/Mother’s Day Hair.
• Back! By popular demand!

Reader Question:

Who was the last person you hugged?

My Aunt Debbie, who was in town for a few days visiting my Grandma for Mother’s Day. She came by to visit and play with Isobel and Squirrelly and brought by some needlepoint pictures she made for my mother years and years ago. They were going to donate them, if you can believe that! My aunt was a home ec major and has made us all sorts of amazing presents over the years, including this amazing Quiet Book. My aunt still has the pattern (she made it for me in the 70s) and I’m going to eventually write a post about it. This time she brought several of her old magazines and macrame pattern books, but the best thing of all was the old text book she brought along called “Clothing for Moderns.” In addition to being really crafty she’s also really fun and organized and positive. It’s always a fun time when my mom and aunt get together.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t actually do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- Last weekend we drove to San Jose for a night of celebrating our friend Lupe’s birthday. It also happened to be Cinco de Mayo, so the people watching that night was excellent. The first restaurant we stopped at was a combination restaurant/bar, and occasionally amusing drunk people would dance too far over from the bar side and look up only to find themselves surrounded by tables and people eating. At one point I saw a very inebriated woman dance near our table. She was rubbing herself and gyrating and wearing her sexy dance face. Closer and closer she danced, closing the dance between herself and our table by just a few air-humps, when suddenly she opened her eyes and saw Isobel, standing right next to Anthony. Immediately this woman’s face went from one of total drunken debauchery to one of pure, unadulterated horror, as if to say A human child! How disgusting! If only it weren’t so loud in the restaurant she could have heard me say, “Keep it up and soon you will have a disgusting human child of your own!”

- I ate a cricket! It was that kind of party.

- Squirrelly’s eyes are open! He is adorable. And speaking of, we are reasonably certain he is a, well, “he.” Twice now he’s treated me to a Golden Shower while I’ve taken him to the bathroom. I’m thinking of eventually writing a post about how to take care of a newborn kitten should any of you ever find yourself in the situation of needing to save a life. Also appropriate for hedgehogs, raccoons, and chipmunks!

-I have so many sponsors this month that I’m breaking up my weekend Sponsor Spotlight into two posts so you can avoid Awesome Fatigue. Best problem ever!

- Mother’s Day is this weekend and I’ve already given myself second-degree burns while making my mom a present. Best daughter ever!

- This weekend is my dear friend Melynda’s murder mystery birthday dinner. It’s my first one and I’m going all out in the dress-up department.

Little Big Links:

Ten Great Crafty Vintage Sheet Ideas. My laundry room houses a giant plastic tote full of sheets, pillowcases, shirts, even vintage muumuus that I couldn’t pass up. Now I feel smart and totally justified. Take that, husband! Via ModernKiddo

“What would happen if you put your hand in front of the Large Hadron Collider beam?” This video finally provides the answer to one of life’s most pertinent questions. Via pourmecoffee

Six Reasons You Should Consider Being a Cat. “Toes looks like beans.” A-freaking-dorable. Via molliekatie

Cat with a banjo. I NEED this shirt in my LIFE. Via Athenabee

Weekly Photos:

• Fantastic mail day courtesy of Corporate Monkey.
• Isobel feeding Squirrelly!
• One of my favorite text exchanges of all time.
• Exploring.
• Mel and I have an Anthony-shaped growth.
• Strange bedfellows.
• Look what the cat dragged in! Literally!
• Found another trashy trucker hat.
• You SAY you’re locally and sustainably grown…

Reader Question:

I want to hear your weird cat vagina story.

Of course you do!

We’re friends with a couple named the Waltons. They are obviously integral to this blog because more than one person has found their way here by searching for the Walton’s Way of Life. Both Angela and Justin are suckers for cats and when Angela saw two Siamese kittens in the window of a pet store, she couldn’t say no. This allowed Angela to wrest the title of Crazy Cat Lady away from me by two measly cats, if you can believe that. Now that Squirrelly is here I can successfully regained that title. Anyway, at this point Angela had out-catted me, but I was still our group’s reigning Cat Expert, so it was up to me to reveal their cats’ genders.

When it came to the larger, fluffier one, there was no question. He was all male. But the second one. Well, he wasn’t a boy, that much was clear, but under his tale was what can only be described as the weirdest cat vagina I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of weird cat vaginas.

The cats were promptly named Boris and Natasha and I did not shut up about that cat’s weird vagina. Tasha was taken to two separate vets for various reasons, and each confirmed he was a she. It wasn’t until he was taken to get spayed that it turns out that Tasha was in fact a boy kitten with completely undescended testicles. Tasha remains, to this day, kind of an odd duck, and I remain, to this day, convinced of his weird vagina.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t actually do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- Last weekend we set about crossing another item off the life list, and this time it was goal number one: take an unconventional family portrait. Fortunately I’m friends with the amazing Chris & Jenn who so generously agreed to help me cross this item off my list. Not only are they the most amazing photographers I know, but they embraced the challenge. Take a look at the sneak peek below. Chris asked a total stranger if we could pose in his absolutely perfect 1985 Buick and the guy said yes. It was fully restored and absolutely pristine on the inside, and I was completely overwhelmed with nostalgia the moment I got in. My mom drove this exact car while we were growing up. Also, we took photos in a field lined with semis because their white sides made a perfect light reflector. Dude. I would never, in a million years, think of that. THIS is the couple you want shooting your portraits.

- The day after our photo shoot Isobel came down with a cold.Here is where I would really like to complain about how hard it is to take care of a sick toddler and a very demanding newborn kitten, but everyone with more than one child out there is rolling their eyes so I guess I’ll stop now. Let’s just say that very little sleep is happening.

- Speaking of Squirrelly! I took him to the vet last Friday just to make sure he was on track health-wise. I was also having a bit of anxiety and was fretting over whether he was getting better or worse because he started sleeping more. Turns out he is doing fantastically and the vet couldn’t get over how healthy he was considering his circumstances. She said she never would have guessed he was abandoned. He is fat and perfect. This made me feel so much better, and I owe his robust health all to my mother who taught me everything I know about taking care of cats. The vet did warn me, however, that there is still a chance that Squirrelly might not make it. Sometimes cats can tell if there is something wrong with their fetus and will abandon it at birth rather than waste their resources on a baby that will never survive. She she he could be fine for a couple weeks and suddenly pass away for no reason at all. I’m really glad to know this because if I hadn’t gone to the vet and he passed away I would have assumed I did something wrong and then felt terrible.

- The vet said it was too young to confirm Squirrelly’s gender, which also made me feel great because I have yet to really be wrong about a cat’s gender, except of course for Tasha but he had a weird vagina. Which I will tell you all about next week because if there’s one thing I need to find more in my search terms it’s “weird cat vagina.”

- My camera is about $400 away from being repaired. On that note, have I mentioned I have an etsy shop?

- Last weekend I accompanied my bestie to her first craft fair. I took a few pics of her awesome set up. Although she didn’t make a lot in sales she impressed a lot of people with her custom invitations and passed out a lot of business cards. The deck was really stacked against her as 95% of the people attending the craft fair were in their late 60s and 70s, which is not exactly her demographic. In fact, since her motto is “This is not your mother’s stationery,” I guess we should just be glad nobody screamed MY MOTHER IS DEAD YOU BASTARDS. The five people that were our age loved her stuff, and really the only reason she signed up was because it was a cheap way to get experience. Now that she’s no longer a craft fair virgin she can move on to better (and more expensive) waters.

- I’m hosting a link party, so if you are a vintage maven or an estate sale queen (or even just an occasional thrifter) you are welcome to join me in my Reuse Roundup! I’d like to encourage and promote the cause of secondhand and finding alternate uses for things before throwing something away or purchasing something new. I know many of you are avid thrifters and I think this is a great way to promote our lifestyle.

Little Big Links:

- John Cleese on creativity. I couldn’t agree with his list more. Via Brain Pickings.

- Having a garage sale this summer? This is a great resource for free printable signs and labels.

- Goals. I really needed to read something like this last week. Thank you, Michelle.

- Unicorn Name Generator. I bet you didn’t know that my unicorn name was Poppy Golden Nostrils! Via Windsong Darling, er, I mean, Tristina.

Weekly Photos:

• She fell asleep looking like a page from Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book.
• Such cheek!
• Giant Pink Hat? Yes, please!
• Morning portrait.
• Unconventional Family Portrait Sneak Peek.

Reader Question:

What was the last thing you ate?

Two fried eggs, toast with butter and peach preserves, four strips of bacon. And coffee. Burp.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t actually do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- I’m posting this a day early because I had more panic attacks on Sunday and Monday night. It was awful and the first one I’ve had since everything went downhill on my birthday. This wasn’t as severe as the attacks I’ve had before since I knew what they were this time and had medicine to treat it. I’m lucky Anthony was home when it happened because he made sure I took my medicine and calmed me down. Something weird happens in my head once they start and it’s like I don’t want to take the medicine because I feel like I deserve whatever is happening to me. The doom feeling. I must have caused it somehow, therefore, I must deserve it. But Anthony was there, I took my medicine before things got really bad, and I survived. I’m still not feeling the greatest, and I wanted tomorrow’s post to be perfect so I’m giving myself an extra day to work on it. I’m so very excited about it. You see, tomorrow I will give you, Little Big readers, my mix CD.

- This photo was taken by me, with my point and shoot, during our completely underwhelming session with a local “master” photographer. We still haven’t seen the actual results of that session, probably because they are busy photoshopping my daughter’s head on the photo we chose to make it better. Yes, really. The more time goes by the more I’m actually pissed at the whole experience.

- I’ve been kind of down lately. My chronic health problems have really been affecting what I can actually get accomplished in a day and I’m overwhelmed at how behind on my goals I am. The worst part is, there’s nothing I can do. This is just the way it is, at least for now. I’m trying to prevent myself from complaining too much here or on twitter. I got together with some friends recently and ended up crying all over them.I’m trying to learn to be content with the hand I’ve been dealt.

- Isobel is my one shining accomplishment in all of this, and she continues to grow healthy and strong and happy, even if I feel like I’m half the mother I want to be on some days.

- Goddamn, it is hot in the Valley. It went from breezy sweater temperatures to 85+ overnight. This last weekend it approached 90 degrees. Seeing as how this is only April, this does not bode well for summer. This is not natural.

- I dropped my camera off at the local repair store, but whatever is wrong with it (most likely shutter issues or lens communication) is such an involved repair it needs to be sent off to Canon, which means I’m out a camera for several weeks. I’m going to be using older, saved DSLR photos for the blog as much as I can, but I’ll also be relying on my iphone camera and my point and shoot for the time being.

- EDITED TO ADD: If you follow me on twitter or IG or flickr then you know that Anthony found an abandoned newborn kitten this morning and brought it home for me to care for. File this under one of the many many many many reasons I adore that man. He couldn’t bear to see it suffer, alone and abandoned in its first moments of life, so he brought it home, knowing there might not be more that we can do other than offer it comfort and companionship if we couldn’t keep it alive. My husband’s work often leads him to tow yards, and this is where he found the kitten, abandoned and completely exposed to the elements, placenta still attached. My mother just so happens to be the cat whisperer, and I grew up around her bottle-feeding kittens and fostering and adopting out cats of all ages, which is how I found myself at the vet’s office this morning, still in my jim jams, buying cat formula. I honestly don’t know if we will be able to keep him alive (I haven’t even checked the gender yet, just have a sense it’s a boy) but if we do we will likely keep him. Isobel is enchanted by him and at first thought him a squirrel. At the moment, that’s what I’m calling him. Squirrel. Currently he is nestled in my cleavage, passed out on milk.

Little Big Links:

Photographer Dad takes creative photos of his daughters. These are so fun to browse. Oh, to be that talented. Via Ellen.

A Peek At My New Apartment. My pal Van at thriftcore decorated her new apartment with her thrifty finds. I love that its cute and shows off her collections and thrifty flare without being cluttered. Via Van

Was Darwin wrong? My friend Dave has been telling me about this article since I first met him. Or, at least, he’s been telling me about the front cover and the first page. Brought to my attention again by shinyinfo.

Have you seen Kelly’s portfolio? You might remember Kelly as a guest blogger a few months back. Her art is gorgeous and she designed the Paul Frank gardening equipment that’s on sale at Target right now. I’ve bought almost all of it.

Weekly Photos:

• Self-portrait with migraine.
• At the camera store.
• Oops.
• Piggy.
• My plan for this afternoon.
• My husband’s surprise.
• Kite day.
• Isobel.

Reader Question:

If you could pick up and leave for vacation right now, where would you go?

This is such a hard question. I’m the opposite of well-traveled (poorly homed?) but in my dreams I’m always visiting faraway places and exotic locals. One thing getting altitude sickness in Reno has taught me is that I’m more of a hobbit than I thought. But some hobbits travel, and maybe I can be one of those? I’ve been talking with Anthony about visiting a few twitter and blog friends lately and he’s all for it. I really want to go to Chicago because I could see five or six great online friends in one trip! I’d also love to go to Eureka and visit the place where my grandma was raised. It’s warming up and I desperately want to visit Scandinavia, or Italy, or Japan. My sister and her husband are currently driving across the US from California to their new home in Washington, D.C. Anthony and I have talked about driving across the US, but we’ll probably have to wait awhile. We don’t really want to be in the car for long periods with Isobel at this age, but nor do I want to be apart from her for that long.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t actually do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- Hey there! I’m posting a snapshot today since my schedule’s all messed up. You may have noticed that an unfinished version went up yesterday because I forgot to disable the auto-post. Wheeeee!

- I’ve been having some worse than usual health problems lately. Part of it was my fault for running too low on my Crohn’s medicine, and the other part is because god hates me. (Jk! Sort of!) I’ve had a migraine for about a week so I’m just not keeping up with day to day life. I’ve been having conversations about this with the lovely Farren on twitter. Being so sick for so long always makes me feel so disappointed in myself. The house goes to shit, we all eat crap, and I’m not the wife or mother I want to be. It’s so easy to get discouraged but it helps to know I’m not alone.

- I should also mention that Anthony has not only been totally loving and supportive of me throughout this, but he also bought me cookies.

- I’m tired of these motherfucking wasps in my motherfucking house.

- Remember all the bitching I did about my book club forcing me to read a flaming turd of a James Patterson book? GOOD NEWS! The whole club hated it, including the lady who suggested we read it. I was telling Angela that if I had a time machine I’d go back in time to convince James Patterson to become a mechanic, but now that I’m sure I won’t have to read any more books I can use that time machine for a better purpose: asking Tom Greene if he can do a barrel roll.

- I’m going to make you a mix CD! I received a reader question about my favorite music, and I think the best way to answer is to just make everyone a CD. I’ll post the playlist on the blog and burn some CDs to give away to five lucky(?) LB readers.

- Isobel has been telling Anthony that he can’t kiss her because he is “TOO SPICY!” which, after I died laughing I accused her of ethnic profiling. It took us about a day and a half to figure out that she didn’t like him kissing her with his goatee grown out because it was too spiky. She likes a clean-shaven man! P.S. If she ever accuses me of being too spicy I will commit seppuku with a Care Bear.

-I’ve been thinking about getting another perm to add body to my hair. Also, I bought rollers. Also, I need a fine hair guru.

Little Big Links:

- Everyone and their mom has been coming out of the woodwork to remind me about Adding Monsters to Thrift Store Paintings. Remembering this brightened me week. Thanks, guys. Via everybody.

-Instapillows! Display your Instagram photos on a pillow. I thought this was going to look very dumb but it’s really cute. I think maybe Ellen sent this link my way, but if someone else did please give me a shout out so I can credit you! My brain isn’t working so well right now.

- Probably everyone has seen this amazing photo of lightning striking the Bay Bridge but if not, it’s worth a look. It’s been all over the internet lately but this came my way originally via my friend Scott.

- 33 Animals Who Are Extremely Disappointed in You. After Emily shared this link we reminisced about Disapproving Rabbits. I used to scroll through this when I was bored at work.

Weekly photos:

• Going out in a vintage shirt.
• Contemplating the futility of existence. With play dough.
• I love my job.
• Chocolate covered pineapple.
• Bacon mushroom tacos.
• Look closely to find Isobel.
• This is how our morning went.
• She’s Isobel Pirate.
• Lightning! Thunder! Bookkeeping!
• Cutest girl at the Taco Trucks.

Reader Question:

OMG WHY IS YOUR CAT SO BIG?! DID HE EAT ANOTHER CAT?!

Have you met my 30lb cat Zorro? Here’s a picture of him almost completely eclipsing my husband. He used to be about 25lbs but then he matured into the glorious beast you see before you. He’s so large because he is a Maine Coon, which is the largest breed of cat.They came about when domesticated cats hopped aboard sailing ships headed for the New World. Only the largest, heartiest cats survived the voyage and the subsequent snow and harsh conditions of New England.

We found Zorro when we were making a routine trip to the pet store for some cat food. The local no-kill shelter was featuring cats for adoption, and when I saw this tiny orange boy kitten with an enormous tail I knew it was love. He body was so small and his ears and tail so large he looked just like a fox. My cat-whispering mother suggested we call him Zorro, which is the Spanish word for fox, and it stuck. Alternate nicknames include FireFox, Zero, and Zippo. Also, Zorrokins, but don’t tell him I told you.

Even though he is huge he mews like he thinks he is the tiniest kitten. He has one of the most high-pitched mews I’ve ever heard. He is Mama’s Baby and follows me around all day begging for attention like a dog. He is fiercely loyal, and is in fact next to me, on top of me, or perched on my computer tower each and every time I blog. He sleeps at the foot of my bed and was quite put out when I wouldn’t let him snuggle the new born baby Isobel all night. He has short little legs so that he looks like a bit of a Corgi and is a terrible jumper. People love him, and I’ve had several friends willing to take him home to live with them forever and ever. Sometimes he sleeps on this back with his paws in the air and his tongue hanging out and he looks a little post mortem-ish. Once the pest control man asked if my cat was dead. True story.

He’s extremely smart and inquisitive. Don’t assume that because he’s huge he’s lazy. He’s  got quite a frisky streak. When we decided to put in a cat door we had to buy a kind called “Chubby Cat” that is meant for small dogs and really large cats. He is my sweet boy and I love him. Here’s some of my favorite photos of Zorro, The 30lb Wonder.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- I am still worn out from Isobel’s birthday. After her party we went to a second party for my friend Justy and I stayed late to enjoy a mind-numbing game of Dix-it. The very next day we hosted Easter at my house, where of course, I cooked all of the sides while enduring a migraine. Yesterday I was just done so I let Isobel destroy the house while I remained motionless and under the influence of imitrex. The past two days have been Days of Reckoning, wherein I’ve been cleaning the house, getting back on top of my to-do list, and trying to fit all of Isobel’s new toys into her bedroom.

- Speaking of toys, I know I complained about what  pain in the ass new toys can be, but we’re so fortunate to have received such awesome gifts this year, including a second Pink Purse. Now she carries the two of them around with her everywhere and says, “WHERE’S MY PINK PURSE AND MY OTHER PINK PURSE?!” if she can’t find them.

- I’m working on a post detailing the theme and activities at Isobel’s party because I love reading other people’s party posts. I busted out my thrifty creativity and this party turned out awesome and cheap.

- Isobel’s latest obsession is painting with watercolors. My friend Stef gave her a bunch of paints and paintbrushes for her birthday and I’ve been painting right along with her. I’m surprised to find it soothing. I’m certainly not good at it, but it’s really fun.

- In tragic news, something is up with my camera and it needs to be serviced. For the moment it’s completely inoperable. This happened a fourth of the way through Isobel’s party so I’m going to have to rely on my cell phone, my point and shoot, and the photos of others for a little while. BOO.

- The other day I narrowly avoided stepping on one half of a large rodent of some sort on our lawn. I’m really not sure what it was because it was just the back half. As soon as I saw it, and before my brain even realized what it was, I heard this unholy noise coming from somewhere. Anthony pointed out that my sensibilities must be more delicate and feminine that I thought because I totally lost my shit and started screaming. I really hope Jupey doesn’t bring us the front half.

Little Big Links:

Vote for Sunday! Anger Burger was nominated for Best Humor Food Blog at Saveur. BADASS!

Panem. A flickr set that illustrates imagery from the Hunger Games. Beautiful.

One of the best photos ever. Via notbrandoncrane

“I’m having this played at my funeral.” Danny Boy, by the best three singers the Muppets have to offer. Via @ispinyarn

Weekly Photos:

• That wall owed me money.
• Today’s my grumpy day.
• Accordion!
• Good gravy.
• Fwends.
• Angela’s grocery list is really gross.
• Evening Sun.
• Latest huge score.
• This says everything you need to know about me

Reader Question:

Cake or Pie?

Cake, usually. Partially because I’m so fond of chocolate ganache and butter, and partially because I think I haven’t had very good pie.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- Today is sweet Isobel’s third birthday. How I love that little pirate.

- I finally found the Holy Grail of thrifting and it is mine, all mine.

- I went to a party last weekend wherein I was introduced to a beautiful young woman who immediately turned to me and said, “You used to be my librarian!”

- My mom took Isobel for a haircut and she looks like she’s 3 going on 12. Mah baybee! She is gone!

- Isobel’s birthday party is happening this weekend. I’m tying up the loose ends as we speak.

- You may have noticed our crappy, run down fence in photos of our backyard. We got together with our neighbors and in less than a day the old one was torn down the new one put up.

- I’ve been giving some things a spring makeover. I’ll share the results with you soon!

- Isobel has been talking a lot about Oprah lately. I watched it pretty faithfully when Isobel was a baby, and Isobel really seemed to enjoy it. She loved clapping, and every time the audience clapped baby Isobel burst into appreciative applause and she enthusiastically screamed “YAAAAY!” in her little baby voice. It was adorable. The past couple days Isobel has mentioned Oprah several times, and it wasn’t until Anthony mentioned that he thinks she means OPERA that it began to make more sense. Especially because she loves to talk about Oprah when she’s playing the piano and singing. Huh. So that’s what her Special Oprah means.

Little Big Links:

My mother-in-law took Isobel for her yearly Easter/Birthday portraits. Pink Purse and bunniez of course are included.

This seemed like a good idea on paper. I could honestly link to something from Sunday’s blog every week, so save me the trouble and subscribe already. In this post we join our intrepid heroine as she buys powdered caffeine by the pound.

Inflatable Star Trek Captain’s chair. They need to make a TNG version, please. Via Mia.

Drunk guy sings Bohemian Rhapsody in back of cop car. I know everyone’s probably seen this by now, but I had to share on the small chance that you haven’t. It’s all about having a good attitude when you’re having a bad day. Or something.

Weekly photos:

• Parasol.
• Do you play croquet?
• We are not amused.
• Pink flowers, thrifted vase.
• Singlehandedly supporting General Mills.
• BFFs.
• Greek yogurt popsicle noms.
• Isobel keeps sneaking these in my thrifting basket.
• Ice cream heart.

Reader Question:

With all the running around I’m doing for Isobel’s party, I couldn’t find time to answer a reader question, but it will be back next week! In the meantime, enjoy this gif, courtesy of my twitter wife.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- It’s my blogoversary! I’ve been blogging for two years as of today and I really want to thank you for all of the love and support you have shown me. I’m so very grateful for all the friendships I have made. You guys have helped me through some rough times and the act of blogging itself has really helped me look at what I want in life for myself, for my daughter, and for my family. I can’t ever reciprocate all the support you’ve given me, but I can and I will say thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

- We’re celebrating Isobel’s birthday soon so I am knee-deep in preparations. This is a great time to have friends that can bake, design invitations, and cook up a mean grilled mixta at a moment’s notice. What’s a mixta? I’m glad you asked because I’ll be posting the recipe later. Mixtas, you want them.

- I feel like kind of a horrible person for dreading all the inevitable new toys a birthday will bring. Especially since as she gets older I will have less and less control over this department. The day someone gives her a Bratz doll is the day I kill it with fire.

- For Christmas my inlaws in law (it’s complicated) gave us an extremely generous gift certificate to a local photographer so we can have some family portraits taken. She knew how badly I wanted a family photo. I take great photos of Isobel and Anthony, but as the photographer I am inevitably left out. Plus, ‘take an unconventional family portrait’ is on my life list. I was excited for these portraits because the photographer was uber-swanky. The experience was a complete let down. The man had the perfect setup for portrait photography: a huge property, built-in sets, a gigantic multi-floor studio, and the best equipment money could buy. And he was as hyped as they come. How can I adequately express my un-recommendation? He took photos of Anthony and I that looked like they came out of an AARP magazine. I took more interesting photos of us with my point-and-shoot as we sat in the posh waiting room. He was so uncharismatic that Isobel is making what Anthony and I call “lemon face” in 90% of the photos. On top of that, he wanted Isobel so rigidly posed that he kept making her do this thing he called “Princess hands.” At the time Isobel had no idea what a princess was, only that they had hands. The next week when we went back for our viewing, Isobel thrashed about in her car seat on the way there screaming, “NO PRINCESS HANDS! NO PRINCESS HANDS!”

- We got Isobel to stop saying “shoom up!”, her version of “shut up,” to people, but she still says it to her toys. That’s fine with me. This is clearly a social issue she needs to practice and get out of her system. Only, she’s too wary of reprecussions to say “shoom up” anymore, so now when she wants to say shut up she shouts SYRUP! at her toys. It’s not uncommon for her to play happily in her room by herself and for me to hear SYRUP SYRUP SYRUP! every once in a while.

- My twitter pal Jamie took the Are You Fucking Kidding Me, Biscuits recipe and ran with it. She turned these biscuits into delicious cinnamon rolls. Scroll down to read her comment and find out how. I can’t wait to try this!

- I had a wonderful time at the preshowing of Hunger Games in SF last week! It took me two days to recover from the lack of sleep, as I am an old lady, but I am so grateful my health was at a point where I could do that. It’s taken me years to get to this point.

Little Big Links:

BEST EVER! My twitter wife, Kristin, took this photo of Isobel and made an animated DEAL WITH IT GIF. As if you needed further proof of her awesomeness here she is with GEORGE TAKEI.

Banda Medley of Super Mario Music. Why wasn’t I invited to this house party?! Awesome. Via Jose.

Ten Reasons Why Life In Skyrim Will Be Better Than Real Life. Via @oodja

Screenshots of Despair: “You are not a member of any groups.” “You are invisible.” “You have not received any gifts.” Via @poesygalore

Weekly Photos:

• My first poppy is blooming!
• This sums up our Sunday.
• Scarf charm close-up.
• A perfect moment.
• So grown up.
• Ready for SF.
• On the train.
• The other one is named Angela.
• I feel like chicken tonight.
• Thrifted egg terrarium for the shop.
• Zorro just won at Hide & Seek.

Reader Question:

What’s the story behind Isobel’s Pink Purse?

When Isobel was just a little baby I bought her an I HEART NY purse at a thrift store for thirty cents. We would load it up with fun little toys and treats and we’d pack it along to doctor appointments and restaurants in order to occupy her little hands while we waited. She was fond of that purse in the way she was fond of all of her toys: she liked it, but she liked just about anything you put in front of her with little preference and no bias. That all changed, however, on September 17th of 2011. I went to a large church sale with one of my besties and as we were leaving, I spotted it: The Pink Purse. It had a jaunty bow, a low-res photo of some kittens, questionable rose clip art, and most importantly… glitter. The glitter doesn’t show up very well in photos (especially since a lot of it has been loved off by now) but the roses are covered in it. The purse sat, on this woman’s table, looking pristine and brand new, and it had a sticker on it for two bucks.

It was late in the day and this tacky magnificent purse still hadn’t sold. I walked over to that woman, and with a look that said, Lady, there is no way you are going to find anybody who wants this purse I said, “I’ll give you fifty cents for it.” She hemmed and hawed, CLEARLY wanting to ask more for a pink plastic purse with glitter kittens, but noting the lateness of the hour, she agreed. I brought it home and Isobel and her Pink Purse have been inseparable ever since.

I am not even joking when I says she sleeps with that purse. She tucks it in between her pillow and her headboard. Each morning, the first question she asks me is, “Mama! Where’s my pink purse?!” One time when I picked her up from Ama’s late at night we left it there, and the next morning I had to load both of us up in the car, still wearing our pajamas, and drive across town to pick up the Pink Purse. She doesn’t have a special blanket or doll or lovey. She has the Pink Purse.

One of her favorite pastimes is decorating Pink Purse with stickers. Currently, almost the entire back side of the purse is covered in old sticker glue. The most famous Pink Purse sticker was the sparkly blue bubble she randomly put over one kitten’s eye, making it look like some sort of kitten cyborg from the future. My friend Stefanie said it reminded her of the Terminator, and whenever she looked at it it seemed to be saying, “Come with me if you want to live.” Terminator Kitty stayed intact for several months before the sticker finally fell off.

The kittens on the Pink Purse have names. Isobel named them. The white kitty is named Peaches, our cat who passed away when Isobel was still very young. She remembers him though, and asks to see photos and videos we took of him from time to time. The other cat is Poppy, one of her BFFs and frequent partners in crime.

What’s inside the Pink Purse, you might ask? Her favorite jar of cornstarch, of course. Yes, that is real cornstarch in that jar. She keeps swiping it out of Mama’s pantry and eventually she decorated it and claimed it as her own. After awhile I just let her have it. Also frequently found inside Pink Purse are Ama’s refrigerator magnets, a vast supply of fake food, Easter chickies, Valentines, stickers, four or five pink crayons, dried flowers that were once picked fresh from the yard, photographs and invitations she swiped off the fridge, and a random assortment of other things. If we go anywhere, Pink Purse comes with us.

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- Tomorrow I’m going to SF with my besties to watch a preshowing of The Hunger Games with a bunch of bearded gay dudes! ASK ME HOW EXCITED I AM! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED THANK YOU FOR ASKING!

Little Big Links:

Amazng Children’s Literature Tributes In Cake Form. The Howl’s Moving Castle made me gasp.   Via @helgagrace

Pinterest You Are Drunk. I squandered my precious Free Time on this site. Their tagline is: “Y’all are going a bit overboard over there. I’m here to help. “

A Complete Scan of the 1999 Delia’s Catalog. OMG OMG OMG YOU GUYS. I think I memorized these catalogs by HEART. Stefanie, you need to see this.

Pages, the Library Cat. Via Melissa Jean Gibson.

Analysis Complete. When Angela showed me this iPhone case I got so excited I turned into a frat boy. Via @theredqueen.

Bracelet Purse Tutorial. I think I could do this! Via Rengawk

Weekly Photos:

• “Let’s be Princesses together, Zorro!“
• Snuggle party.
• A Master at work.
• “Zorro’s my buddy.”
• Score: $1 Handmade Finnish Aran.
• Sweater love.
• Right after this she tried put Anthony’s shirt on him.
• Cupcake truck!

Reader Question:

What is your biggest thrift store score?

There is no way on earth I could ever narrow this down. How about I share with you some extra special favorite scores that I use and love on a daily basis and couldn’t imagine my life without?

These Plates.

This Satellite Chair.

Egg & Mushroom Terrariums.

Isobel’s Toy Camera.

This Clock.

Monogrammed Mugs.

Isobel’s Big Girl Bed.

My Camera Bag/Purse.

Zorro (technically, we got him secondhand).

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.

What I’m up to:

- My Mom, who is awesome, is becoming more active on Facebook these days, and due to her recent interwebs exploration, she has found her self here and occasionally on my twitter. Welcome to the 20th century, Mom (she is still using AOL)! Anyway, I don’t post anything scandalous, so overall it’s not a big deal. Except for Twitter. Those of you who follow my on twitter are familiar with my propensity to swear like a sailor. Twitter is the place where I vent and post things of a ridiculous nature and I’ve decided I’m not going to change that. I love my Mama but she’s going to have to take a lesson from Riker.

-Isobel says “shoom up” instead of “shut up” and although there’s been many many talks and time outs on this subject I still have to will myself not to laugh every time it happens.

-The Wasp Situation is still an ongoing thing. I really don’t even like to think about it, but once you punch a wasp to death in your kitchen you know it’s only a matter of time before something expensive must be done. My dear friend Justin did give us a wasp trap and its these sort of gifts that let you know who your true friends are. Friends don’t let friends be inundated by wasps! Related: why isn’t that a t-shirt yet?

- We went to the park to feed the ducks the other day, and not only did Isobel gnaw on some of the dried bird bread we brought, she also proudly showed off her Big Girl Chonies (underwear) to some nice little old ladies who sad down on the bench next to us. This, in addition to her insistence that I call her “Girl Pirate” while she calls me “Mama Pirate,” just further proves to me that her awesomeness knows no bounds.

- I’m getting pretty disgustingly happy again. I’m still battling anxiety and have moments where I’m just completely overwhelmed by the problems of life, but over all I feel like I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing in life.

- Writing the Thrifted Closet series has me eager to clean out and update my closet. I started this process yesterday and certainly couldn’t finish it so now it looks like my closet at some bad shoes or something and barfed its contents all over the bedroom. I’ve been browsing for clothes online but I feel like I hate everything. Does anyone have any suggestions for their favorite places to shop online? I need some new inspiration.

Little Big Links:

- “To simplify the matter, it’s standard yogurt with the whey filtered out. What is whey? It’s the stuff that’s left behind when yogurt goes to Greece.” Check out The Palinode’s hilarious post in our Food Fight! Greek Yogurt Competition. Greek yogurt never tasted so… hilarious.

- The giveaway is over, but you can still save 15% at Miss Eva Diva by using coupon code LITTLEBIG. Good through March 16th!

- I am like totally crushing over these iphone covers. Via Bethazon

- Have you had that baby yet? Hilarious. I could have used this. Via joniboloney

- Kim’s daughter covered her town with Missing Unicorn posters and was featured on the local news. Aw! Via Everything Bugs Me

Weekly Photos:

• Too cool for school.
• You should buy these.
• Best Toddler Fashion Ever.
• UUUUUUUUUUUUnicorn!
• New glasses.
• Mama-daughter date.
• Think Tank.
• Look, Mama! Pirates!

Reader Question:

Tell me about the worst punishment you had when you were a child?

This is just embarrassing. I’m not even sure if it qualifies as punishment (I was usually just sent to my room or grounded), but onetime my mom wouldn’t let me see my boyfriend, who had been gone over a week, until the next day, even though he got home in the late afternoon. I was dying to see him, and postponing it another day felt like the most torturous murder imaginable. I’m sure I had punishments that were worse, but I really don’t remember them. I remember not being allowed to see my boyfriend, though. (P.S. this was not Anthony, so clearly, I survived.)

Do you have a question for me? I’d love to answer it! You can leave your question in the comments, @-reply me on twitter, email it to me at alittlebigblog@gmail.com or send me a messenger pigeon. Don’t do the last one, though. My cat will eat it.